With all the hoopla and media hype around a new stadium, Super Bowl LII, ice castles, All-Star Games, Final Four extravaganzas and light rail, wouldn’t it be nice to see the same level of commitment and fervor at all levels in our state government put against an initiative to FIX OUR POTHOLES?

Thomas C. Hutsell, Maplewood

Pushing back

“St. Paul mayor, council clash over street repairs” (June 12) shows that Mayor Coleman continues to turn a blind eye toward basic city services and infrastructure, in favor of his downtown “pet projects.” He pays lip-service to street maintenance and snow/ice removal, only after there is significant public outcry. The money, and his priorities, clearly have been a baseball stadium, luxury apartments, and now the Palace Theatre, Macy’s and Pedro Park.

I commend City Council President Lantry for pushing back. The next step should be booking a spot on the mayor’s calendar and taking a “road trip” to visit other parts of the city.

Mark Schreifels, St. Paul

A bit of information

Journalism sure isn’t what it used to be. Reading the front page article regarding the opening of the Green Line in St. Paul, I kept looking for the main reason the writers of the article pointed out Stanley Gordon West waited 50 years to board the new commuter line. For those who do not know, Stanley Gordon West grew up in St. Paul and is the author of “Until They Bring The Streetcars Back,” a wonderful coming-of-age story that takes place in St. Paul during 1949-50, when buses were beginning to replace streetcars. I happen to have many of Stanley Gordon West’s wonderful books — “Amos” (a made-for-TV movie starring Kirk Douglas), “Blind Your Ponies,” “Finding Laura Buggs,” “Growing an Inch” and “Sweet Shattered Dreams.” It’s unfortunate that the writers didn’t include this bit of information, since Stanley is a local treasure.

Susan Sandberg, Stillwater

A threat to our health

Within the climate debate, we sometimes miss the scary fact that environmental exploitation does not only impact the environment, but it invades our own bodies and damages our health. Air pollution produced by power plants, approximately 40 percent of our total energy-related carbon pollution, remains a threat to our health and environment.

The EPA’s new protections will cut carbon pollution from power plants 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. Studies show that reducing carbon pollution and improving air quality could reduce risk of heart attacks and lung disease. These new safeguards demonstrate another step toward transforming our country into a green economy that supports innovation and the well-being of its people through creating thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in new investment. As Ed Lotterman notes in his column “Emissions plan is all politics” (June 8), climate change is one issue that is not going away. That’s something we can all agree on.

I’m grateful that the EPA continues to support our health and well-being, and I hope that Minnesotans will encourage continued improvements to our energy policies.

Anne Marie Buron, St. Paul

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